By the time we reach our later 30s, 40s and early 50s life begins to look much differently. Middle Adulthood is the stage of life when you have passed the growth during your twenties and the focus becomes working more towards sustaining routines and fine tuning your goals and the community you want around you. It can be quite stressful to figure it out because of the belief that there is an expectation to have it all figured out already.
1.Career and Professional Life-
In Middle Adulthood you may have more direction regarding what you want for your career. You may be able to make space for elevating in your career or to be more clear in your ability to navigate in a specific way. You may be more driven to take risks but struggle with fear around pushing out of your comfort zone. Middle Adulthood may lead to an increase in pressure to take on more tasks and elevate more towards success. This increased pressure can lead to an increase in anxiety and a new awareness of perfectionistic tendencies. Therapy can help with making sense of what may be holding you back from your true goals and interests.
- Romantic Life and Family-
Relationships can be difficult to manage at all ages. During midlife there may be difficulty adjusting to marriage with changing family dynamics and aging children. This is a time in which you face increasing stress managing your life as well as the lives of your family. Therapy can help work through the feelings that emerge from balancing marriage, parenting or even dating again. ..
3.Family of Origin-
In Middle Adulthood you may become more aware of difficulty getting along with parents and siblings. You may notice that your interactions leave you feeling sad, anxious and upset and that engaging with family can lead to you reverting back to behaviors you once engaged in during the past. Therapy can help make sense of the interconnections between your upbringing with your family of origin and how some of those experiences may be impacting you currently.
4.Relationships with Friends-
During Middle Adulthood your interest and needs change within your relationships. You may feel differently engaging with friends that you were once close with and feel confused as to why. Therapy can help uncover dynamics that may have been more manageable during young adulthood but now are hard to be in. Therapy can help with figuring out how to change and enhance interactions with friends that better suit your new needs.
Middle Adulthood comes with a lot of change and adjustments. We may notice feelings of sadness and anxiety when reflecting on our lives thus far. Therapy can help with resetting your goals and changing behaviors and your outlook in order to help with making a new imprint for the future trajectory of your life.
